"...to ensure that technology is useful for everyone...it is imperative that we have a diverse mixture of people working to design, develop, and implement our computer systems."
- Tracy Camp, Reversing the Trend, 2001

Leading the Way: Girls, Technology and Education

April 19, McConomy Auditorium, University Center,
Carnegie Mellon University

On April 19th, Women@SCS presented the first of what is hoped to be an
annual series of forums on girls and technology in education and
entertainment. The event successfully brought together more than 160
teachers, academics, students, and members of the business community
for a full afternoon of talks and brainstorming. Together, the group
that was present discussed topics ranging from girl-friendly classroom
strategies, to software game development and beyond.

The goal of the event was fourfold:

To provide a comprehensive overview of girls' relationship with
technology in education, entertainment and the home.

To explore new technologies that more accurately reflect girls'
interests and needs.

To discuss how these technologies can be made more available to
girls, including those in disadvantaged situations.

To create opportunities in which girls can influence the
development of new technology, both for themselves and for society at
large.

This forum was funded in part by grants from Carnegie Mellon
University President's Office, the School of Computer Science Office
of External Relations, and the Heinz Foundation.

Links

Forum Summary

Dr. Lenore Blum opened the forum by situating the event in its
historical context. Many efforts for gender equity in the classroom,
she reminded us, began with Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments,
which prohibited sex discrimination in any education program or
athletic activity receiving federal funds. Nearly thirty years later,
the growing success of women, perhaps most visibly in sports, attests
to the progress we've made. However, despite these strides, women
remain underrepresented in many technical fields. It is this
continued imbalance which motivated the development of this forum.

Sonya Allin then described the process of putting the forum
together with the help of Women@SCS and support of the CMU community.

The first speakers of the forum were Dr. Jane Margolis and
Dr. Allan Fisher, whose pivotal research project right here at CMU
highlighted the different ways in which young men and women view their
relationships to computers and technology. Their talk outlined the
scope of this research and its impact, and was effectively illustrated
by excerpts from student interviews collected over the course of
several years. Many of the issues highlighted by their work have
since been, and continue to be, addressed by the CMU administration
and faculty of SCS. These efforts have contributed to the recent
dramatic rise in the number of women in the undergraduate computer
science program at CMU.

Dr. Maria Klawe, whose talk followed, has also championed equity in
education through the development of interactive tutors that are
responsive to girls' interests and needs. She described her work with
the E-GEMS project at the University of British Columbia, which uses
multi-media stories and games to teach mathematical concepts. This
format has been shown to be very effective at engaging young girls and
inspiring them to develop their mathematical problem solving skills.
Dr. Klawe then surprised the participants with a juggling tutorial,
followed by an attempt to teach a graduate student volunteer some
basic juggling skills. Learning math, she explained, is much like
juggling: at first glance it seems very difficult, but it is actually
quite easy to learn with a good instructor who can help you break the
learning task down into smaller chunks. Both are acquired skills
requiring a little patience and lots of practice.

Finally, equitable access to technology in the video game industry
was addressed by Megan Gaiser, CEO of Her Interactive, and Robert
Riedl, Her Interactive's Director of Product Development. Gaming has
historically addressed a male audience; however, Her Interactive's
Nancy Drew games are successfully carving a niche in the industry by
targeting girls and young women. Ms. Gaiser and Mr. Riedl outlined
the difficulties and challenges inherent in gender-sensitive
technology development and marketing. In particular, they emphasized
the importance of seeking feedback from their target customers
throughout the development process.

The finale of the forum was a lively panel session in which
panelists offered their perspectives on a variety of questions from
the audience. Together, the panelists discussed their experiences
with technology, how best to get young girls interested in computing,
as well as techniques for teaching technological principles in
classrooms that are not wired. The panel session left everyone wanting
more.

For Women@SCS, the event was a great success. The forum brought
together members of the corporate, research, and educational realms in
a meaningful discussion pertaining to girls' educational future, and
helped sew seeds for future projects, discussions, and practical
change. Moreover, it provided Women@SCS with a good deal of
visibility. Two members of women@SCS sat on the panel, and others
introduced the speakers and panelists. Their presence and contribution
served to remind us of women's impact on the world of technology.

Speaker Biographies and Talk Abstracts

Dr. Maria Klawe, Dean of Science, University
of British Columbia

At the University of British Columbia, Maria Klawe holds the NSERC-IBM
Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, a chair that focuses on
research aimed at increasing the participation of women in information
technology. Maria is also the founder and director of the E-GEMS project, a collaborative
project involving computer scientists, mathematics educators,
teachers, children and game developers. The E-GEMS project involves
research on the design and use of computer games that enhance
mathematics education for grades 4 to 9.

Design and Use of Girl-Friendly Computer Games for Math
Education
What happens when a team of people decide to create computer games
that are fun for girls aged 10-14 to play, and that help them to learn
and like math? This talk tells the story of the creation and evolution
of Phoenix Quest, one of the most popular games developed in the
E-GEMS research project.

From 1994-1999, Jane Margolis, a social scientist and expert in gender
equity in education, studied the gender gap in the Carnegie Mellon
undergraduate computer science program with Allan Fisher. This
research is the subject of their forthcoming book, titled "Unlocking
the Clubhouse: Women in Computing", to be published by MIT
Press. Currently, Jane is studying the underrepresentation of minority
high school students in computer science on a project funded by the
National Science Foundation.

Allan Fisher, President and CEO, Carnegie Technology Education
Prior to his present position, Allan Fisher was Associate Dean for
Undergraduate Computer Science Education at Carnegie Mellon. In
collaboration with Jane Margolis, he spearheaded an intensive effort
to understand and change the representation of women in the
undergraduate CS program. In large part due to their research (funded
by the Sloan Foundation), to proactive work with high school teachers
of AP computer science (funded by the NSF), and an admissions policy
aimed at identifying potential visionaries in the field, the
proportion of women entering the undergraduate program rose from 8% to
37% during the years 1995-2000. (See: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~gendergap)

Unlocking the Clubhouse: Four Years of Research on the CMU Computer
Science Gender Gap
Why are so few women learning how to design and invent the computer
technology? From 1995 to 1999, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation, we conducted more than 230 interviews with male and female
CMU computer science students. Our goal was to better understand
women's decisions to study (and not study), to persist (and not
persist) in computer science, and to devise effective interventions to
bridge the gender gap. Our research team interviewed students when
they arrived at the university, and revisited many of them every
semester as they made their way through college. We discovered how
computing very early becomes claimed as male territory, how girls
interest is too often extinguished, and how education at all levels
typically continues the male claim. Through our investigation we
explored alternative curriculum and pedagogy that have a greater
chance of sparking and holding girls' and women's interest and
confidence. Our research has informed examinations of the computer
science gender gap nationwide. In this talk, we will present our
major findings.

Megan Gaiser has over 10 years experience in the film, video and
multimedia industries. She joined Her Interactive, home of Nancy Drew
interactive games, in 1997. Seattle-based Her Interactive designs,
develops, and markets award-winning interactive games for girls ages 10
and up. It leads the industry in creating computer games that expand a
girl's choices, computer skills, and mind.

Robert Riedl, Director of Product Development,
Her Interactive
Robert Riedl supervises the development, production and testing of
Her Interactive's CD-ROM and online products, including all of the Nancy
Drew titles. His background is in Information Services.

Interactive Entertainment Dovetails with Girls' Education in
Technology"
As pioneers in the "games for girls" industry, our talk will
concentrate on lessons we have learned along the way. Special
emphasis will be given to an examination of the state of the industry
relative to girls and women (including results of our own
research). It is intended that educators and content providers can
apply these lessons to address the technological gap between genders.

Panelists

Carnegie Mellon faculty, students and alumnae as well as
representatives from the wider community.

Judy Gordon

Judy Gordon is a Senior Program Associate at
Girls Count, a national
organization (based in Denver, Colorado) that teaches adults to
positively impact girls' lives. Her specialty is product development
and training. She is editor and author of numerous Girls Count
publications and is manager of Girls Count's Web site. Girls Count's
product development is currently focused on the 10 Success Skills for
Girls TM, a listing of skills that
Girls Count has identified as essential for girls to develop in order
to be economically successful as adults in a technological world.
Girls Count's audiences are parents, educators, mentors, youth program
leaders, and all other adults in girls' lives.

Donald Marinelli

Donald Marinelli is a Professor of Drama and Arts Management here at
Carnegie Mellon University. He is also the Co-Director of the
Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), a joint initiative between the
School of Computer Science and the College of Fine Arts, specializing
in all manner of digital arts and entertainment. Professor Marinelli
was for fourteen years the Associate Head of Drama where he was
instrumental in the establishment of the Master of Arts management
program, the Master of Fine Arts in Acting program with the Moscow Art
Theatre School of Russia, and (along with ETC Co-director Randy
Pausch) the new Master of Entertainment Technology degree program.

Peggy Stubbs

Margaret L. (Peggy) Stubbs holds a Ph.D. in Social and Developmental
Psychology from Brandeis University. She is currently the Project
Coordinator for Girls, Math and Science, a regional communications and
outreach program designed to enhance the interest and successful
participation of 4th through 8th grade girls in math and science.
Peggy is a former research associate at the Wellesley Centers for
Research in Women and was the first director of Women's Studies at the
University of Maine at Farmington. She has taught as a Visiting
Assistant Professor of Psychology at Chatham College in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. Peggy is a writer with numerous publications, and
regularly consults to schools and other organizations on topics
related to adolescent or women's development, gender equity, and death
and dying.

Hilary Packer

Hilary Packer is a Carnegie Mellon University Alumna. She received a
Masters in Software Engineering in December 1994. Since then, she has
been creating software for equity derivatives traders for various Wall
Street banks. Presently, Hilary is a Director of Equity Derivatives
Technology at Deutsche Bank. Hilary received a BS in computer science
from the University of Michigan in 1991 and has been an active member
of the Computer Science Alumnae of Michigan (CSAM) since 1995. CSAM
encourages and supports women pursuing undergraduate degrees in
computing by funding a scholarship and mentoring women at the
University of Michigan.

Leah Miller

Leah Miller is a junior Computer Science major at Carnegie Mellon.
She has helped organize and construct the Living LEGO City with local children and is a leading member of the
Women@SCS Advisory Council. Her interests include technology in
children's education, the use of computer science and technology to
affect social change, and studying and improving factors that
contribute to the changing role of women in science and engineering.

Allison Bruce is a first year Ph.D. student in the Robotics department
of Carnegie Mellon University. She led a team of women students from
the School of Computer Science at the Expanding Your Horizons
Conference, where they presented two workshops titled "Is There A Robot
in Your Future?". Allison is a graduate representative on the
Women@SCS advisory council.

Tucker Balch is a Research Scientist and Associate Director of the
MultiRobot Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Balch is interested
in all challenges involved in deploying reliable, large scale
multi-robot and multi-agent systems. He is the Associate Chair for
Robotics of the 2001 RoboCup Robot World Cup and General Chair of the
2001 AAAI Mobile Robot Competition. Dr. Balch is involved in the
development of an educational robotics system called TeamBots Jr. that
will enable kids to program simulated soccer robots on their home
computers. Dr. Balch is also actively involved in robotics education
efforts in the School of Computer Science at CMU. He is one of the
co-founders of the Office of Robotics Education, a resource to help
students, parents, and teachers with interest in using robots for
education establish connections and find information about existing
programs.

Latanya Sweeney is Assistant Professor of computer science in Carnegie
Mellon's Center for Automated Learning and Discovery (CALD) in the
School of Computer Science, as well as Assistant Professor of public
policy in the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and
Management. Professor Sweeney's research focuses on the problems of
maintaining privacy and confidentiality in computerized data. She also
works on policy issues, assisting with the World Wide Web Consortium
on establishing privacy policies for the Internet, among other
projects. Professor Sweeney's initial undergraduate computer science
study was at MIT in 1977. She left to become CEO and President of a
computer company, where she worked for ten years. She then earned an
A.L.B. in computer science from Harvard, and both the S.M. and Ph.D. in
electrical engineering and computer science from MIT.

Facilitators

Lenore Blum (Ph.D., M.I.T.) is Distinguished Career Professor of
Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. She is an
internationally renowned mathematician and computer scientist. Blum is
a former vice-president of the American Mathematical Society and
former president of the Association for Women in Mathematics. Blum
founded the Mathematics and Computer Science Department at Mills
College where she was awarded the first Letts-Villard Chair and an
honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Blum was also a member of the
International Computer Science research team, Deputy Director of the
Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, and spent 2
years as visiting professor at the City University of Hong Kong
collaborating on her research and book "Complexity and Real
Computation". Blum has been widely recognized as a champion for women
and girls in mathematics. She was instrumental in founding the
Math/Science Network which now sponsors nationwide the annual
"Expanding Your Horizons" conferences dedicated to increasing the
participation of girls and women in mathematics and science. Here at
CMU Blum is also the Faculty advisor to Women@SCS which promotes
social and professional interaction among undergraduate and graduate
women in the School of Computer Science.

Sonya Allin is a first year Ph.D. student in the Human Computer
Interaction Institute whose current research revolves around the
creation of rehabilitation strategies and technologies for victims of
stroke. Prior to her arrival at CMU, she worked as the Technical Lead
for gURL.com, a community web-site for teenaged girls, and as a
children's instructor at Playing To Win, a community technology center
in Harlem, New York.

Ting-Chih (Ting) Shih

Ting Shih is a senior Computer Science major at Carnegie Mellon
University. Her primary interest is in improving education, tailoring it
to the needs of different individuals, especially in the area of technical
training. Currently, she is working on a thesis research project
exploring methods to bridge the gender gap in computer science
education. She works closely
with students as an academic counselor, designing methods to improve
their studying skills and efficiency. She is an active member of the
Women@SCS Advisory Council and the lead webmaster for their web site.